Hourglass
by KitKatmunch
Summary: Karolina Paulker has been wandering around, trying to forget the past. But when forced into a situation with the people who caused it, how is she to react? Especially when she's supposed to be dead... Stuck with a powerful, yet abusive, entity who refuses to let her finally rest in peace, how is she going to get through this? CURRENTLY UNDERGOING REWRITE
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Karolina could always see them. The hourglasses inside of people, plants, trees, anything living basically. Some were bigger, some smaller, some had more sand, and others had less. The worst part of it all was that she knew what those hourglasses represented. They showed how much time someone or something had left to live. So when her own hourglass was almost out of sand, she decided to spend her last days doing something she loved. Hiking. The beautiful view, the steady pace and the fresh air was her idea of fun. Karolina would usually hike alone, mainly because she was an orphan and because her childhood friends were busy. But she couldn't really blame them could she? Winry was doing her automail and the brothers were probably still mad at her for the whole 'Mom' incident. Karolina had warned them about it and they chose to ignore her. They then went off to central and they still hadn't made up.

_ '__Now now Karolina. I would be more concerned about the fact that you find _this _fun." _Courgette, her inner voice, commented. It had always been there, constantly helping her. It was probably the closest thing to a parent Karolina had.

"Not now Courgette. I'm hiking," She scolded it, yet she couldn't help but being thankful for the slight distraction. It could get lonely sometimes.

_"__How many times? How many times?! My name is _Time_! Not Courgette!" _It shouted, sounding incredibly annoyed. Karolina simply grinned.

"Time? I thought I told you _Courgette_, that Time is too overpowered for a voice in my head. After all, you should be honoured that I even gave you a name. At least I stopped calling you Courgie." She said, and could practically feel Courgette exploding in anger.

_"__And imagine, I almost pitied you. You can die for all _I _care." _It scoffed. Karolina stuck my tongue out, ignoring the fact that any passer-by would think her crazy. Though the fact that a 12 year old was off walking by herself was weird enough. Karolina shrugged. Screw them. She was going to die; She _deserved _to hike in pleasure.

"Say Courgette, do you think they passed the exam? I mean, they are pretty young and all that…" Karolina mumbled, but it heard her perfectly.

_"__You mean the brothers? They'll be fine. Goddamned dandy even. I'd be more worried about the fact that you're going to die, and they're not." _Courgette retorted, obviously still annoyed.

"…Stop reminding me. And anyway, if you have forgotten, they lost freaking parts of their bodies! Al even lost all of his body! They barely came out unscathed!"

_"__I thought you were ignoring them because they didn't take your warning seriously. Well those bastards got what they deserved. You told them their mom was going to die and they got angry at you. Then, when it did happen, they just up and did human transmutation. _Human transmutation! _And even after that, they had the nerve to comment on the fact that you're an orphan! Hah! As if they aren't orphans too now!" _It ranted. She rolled my eyes, but she knew what Courgette was saying was true. Cruel, but true.

"I know, what they did was unjustified, but it was mainly Ed who did that. And the whole orphan thing… yeah, that was pretty mean. They have each other, but what do I have? I have a stupid ability and a voice in my head." She continued Courgette's rant, pulling on her short white hair.

The discussion was cut short by a rumbling.

"What was that?" She asked only to hear a child shouting. Running up ahead the rocky path, she found a family across a wooden bridge. The youngest was still on the bridge, staring fearfully up at a rockslide that was rapidly closing in.

_"__Karolina! The hourglass!" _Courgette screamed, but she ignored it. Sprinting up to the bridge, she pushed the kid to the other side, glad that she was going to die saving someone. The rocks came tumbling down and she looked down at her torso, only to see an empty hourglass, sand gathered at the very bottom. She couldn't help but grin slightly. It was time for Life's Next Adventure.

_"__Time's up Karolina. I'll see you at the gate." _She barely listened to Courgette, only focusing on the heavy rocks smashing into her tiny body, completely crushing her.

* * *

"Welcome to the gate Karolina Paulker." An eerie voice chimed and it seemed to echo through the entire white hall that Karolina was in.

"Nice colour code. I especially like the decoration in here. Real classy." She said sarcastically, and a figure materialised in front of her. It was completely white, only the outline of a weird grin showed. And then a second figure appeared next to it. However, this one was made completely out of sand.

"Sand…? Could you by any chance be the maker of the hourglasses?" She asked, hesitating slightly. There was something familiar about it though. Not the shape, or the figure, but rather the aura, its presence.

"I told you, my name is Time." It said and she froze.

"No way…" She whispered and the figure next to Courg- Time laughed.

"Welcome to the Gate Karolina Paulker. I am the Truth, however I am called by many other names. One name you might have for me is the world, or you might call me the universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am All, and I am One. So, of course, this also means that I am you." Truth said, a grin still adorning his face.

"Um... Thank you for clearing that up…? Sorry, not to be rude, I know that I died. That much is clear to me but why the hell is Courg- sorry _Time _there with you?" Karolina questioned, only to receive another laugh. That was starting to annoy her. She was confused, and slightly scared. She had just died, and she wanted eternal peace, goddamnit!

"Stupid child. I am what my name suggests. I am Time, however, this annoying bastard here, thought it would be fun to send me to the human world. _Without _a vessel might I add. So I just went inside the closest body there was, which was you. But I couldn't take over your body, because your soul seemed to accept me as its equal. Basically meaning it allowed me to stay there, but not to take over." Time explained, leaving her mouth hanging open. That didn't make sense to her. Wasn't Time an all-powerful being? Surely it didn't need a Vessel?

"And now that you died, well, simply said you can't die." Truth continued, which made her widen my eyes.

"That… makes no sense," she exclaimed and Time sighed.

"Simply put, I can't have my vessel dying on me- that would defeat the purpose of my being here. In order for the flow of time to be somewhat normal, I need to be on earth. Does that make more sense?" It explained and she nodded slightly.

"So… what happens now?" She wondered, and Truth gave a small chuckle.

"You should know, Little Vessel, that every time you die, your soul gets transported here. Until you've recovered. Which means Time takes over your body, until your soul recovers." Truth informed her.

"I… I'm sorry what? I-I have to give up my body? I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure that's a violation of rights!" Truth had the nerve to cackle at her.

"Okay, fine. We'll discuss this another day. But… I think I want to go home now. Please." She asked, but froze when Truth and Time grinned at her.

"About now, people should be investigating the rockslide and find all the blood and crap there. So they'll obviously assume you're dead. When we return I'll help you get out of the rocks. Your puny human body and spirit won't be strong enough to pull yourself out." Time said, its grin growing wider by the second.

"W-What? No. No, please no! Winry- and Granny, they'll be gutted! I-I can't do this to them! Bring me back, let me back-!"

"Quiet." That simple word shocked Karolina into silence. Time's voice was deep, growling and angry.

"Do not presume that you know best you insolent child. You cannot be showing your powers of immortality, simply because you want to go home. No, when you come back from here, you shall find yourself a teacher, who will train you to be strong. I cannot have a weak Vessel. Do you understand me?" It snarled out, and she nodded, horribly scared at the being in front of her. This wasn't Courgette, the voice that brought her up. No, this was Time, an ancient being who needed to be on earth.

It was as she was nodding, did she notice the bright crimson strands of hair on her head.

"…What…? Why is my hair red?" She questioned, not trusting herself to look in either beings' eyes.

"Ah, just a side effect of being crushed Little Vessel. Because your hair was white, it was dyed red with your blood. Fascinating isn't it?" Truth cheerfully told her. Karolina ducked her head in response.

"Times up, Little Vessel. I'd love to stay and chat, but you two should be getting back. Oh and just a quick tip! If you wear glasses, then you won't see the hourglasses! Until you die, Little Vessel!" Truth shouted, before creepy black hands grabbed her and Time. She felt a burning inside of her chest as Time was sucked into her body. She screamed, before unconsciousness gripped her.

* * *

Winry was putting her tools away, worrying about Karolina. She still hadn't returned from her hike yet. What if something had happened? What if she was in trouble? _Stop it Winry, Karolina has returned late before, she probably just got lost or started daydreaming or something! She's been doing that a lot lately! _Winry thought, before the door knocked. It was loud and startled Winry out of her thoughts. _Ah! That must be her! _Winry happily thought, before dashing downstairs.

"I'm coming!" She arrived at the oak door and gleefully opened it, a wide grin on her face.

"Your late today Karolina!" Winry expected the sly response, but only got a quiet shuffling. She looked up, and saw a man with an apologetic look on his face.

"Is this the residence of Karolina Paulker?" he asked, and Winry felt a pang of pain in her heart. It reminded her of when the military told her and granny that her mother and father had died.

"Y-yes." Winry stuttered. Granny had come downstairs in the meantime, wondering what was going on.

"Oh, sorry sir, but we're closed now." Pinako said, only to be met with a shake of the man's head.

"You are Karolina Paulker's guardian?" A nod from Pinako made him continue. "I'm afraid I bring ill news." He said darkly, and the old woman lowered her head.

"You better come in then."

The man stepped in, not bothering to take his boots off.

"There was an accident on the mountain. Only one casualty, but it was fatal. A landslide came crashing down, and almost crushed a little boy. But Miss Paulker pushed the boy out of the way, to be crushed instead. We couldn't retrieve the body, but there was enough blood. I am terribly sorry, but… Karolina Paulker is dead."

* * *

**20.12.15: Rewritten, perspective change, major character changes. **


	2. East City

**Chapter 1: East City**

Karolina yawned, stretching her arms as she got off the train. Everything was shaded, due to her wearing sun glasses. Her short crimson hair was in plain sight, its unusual colour getting her attention. It didn't help that she was wearing a long brown coat with hiking boots and holding a strange staff covered in transmutation circles. She had a brown leather satchel slung around her shoulder, with all of her alchemy notes inside of it. She only had a few non-alchemical weapons, mostly a few knives and a single gun gifted to her by one guy she met in her travels. The only problem with her look was that she kept on getting stopped by every single person in the military who she passed.

"Sir-"

"Not a boy."

"Please take off those sunglasses. Otherwise I will have to be forced to take drastic action." The military policeman asked politely, and she bit her lip, feeling slightly bad for the poor guy.

"I can't take off my sunglasses. I'm- uh… blind. My eyes look weird and I don't want to be stared at." She answered and the guy raised an eyebrow, looking up at her hair.

"I'm sorry sir-"

"Still not a boy."

"But this is standard procedure. Please come quietly." He spoke, patting his gun and reaching out to grab her. Karolina sighed in frustration.

"Sorry that I have to do this." She muttered apologetically, before touching one of the transmutation circles on the staff she held. A pillar shot up from the ground, catapulting her into the air.

_"For God's sake Karolina! Must we use this method every time we go to the city?" _Time asked and she rolled her eyes.

"He was questioning me, and you know that you don't want me to be recorded by the Military." She explained as the wind whistled past her ears.

_"Weren't you going to break into the East City Military Official Building in order to gain information on the Philosopher's Stone?" _Karolina scoffed.

"I could probably break in. The only problem is finding out if they even have anything on it…" She tapped another transmutation circle on the top of her staff. The stick turned into a large umbrella and she began drifting along the wind. It was probably her favourite part of her strange travel. The feeling of the wind in her hair and the feeling of flying, even though she was drifting rather than flying. She landed on the roof of a building, and settled down, looking happily at the bustling city below. She liked it when there were lots of people. It made the world seem livelier.

* * *

"Rain, rain, go away, come back here another day," Karolina sang softly, while skimming through her extensive collection of notes.

_"You suck at collecting notes. You always stay for ages in one town, before finding out that no-one knows anything about the Philosopher's Stone." _Time grumbled. She smiled.

"Well seeing as I have all the time in the world, quite literally, I have to do _something_ to pass the time. And anyway, it's not like it's my fault the people don't know anything. The last good lead we had was with Dr. Marcoh and that would take us to Central. But I don't want to go there just yet." She said in reply, before deciding to jump off the roof she was on in order to explore. She had been to East City before, yet there were always places she had never seen, or new buildings being made.

Using her umbrella as a parachute, which was sturdy enough to hold her light body, the wind carefully carrying her safely, she fluttered softly to the ground. Karolina began walking, while smiling at the rain. She wasn't walking for very long, when she suddenly came across a military building.

"That's… quite high," she grinned and closed her umbrella. She loved high places. Twirling it, she touched a transmutation circle and a stone pillar catapulted her up, much like the one she had used to escape the military before. She couldn't help but wave cheerfully, and pull faces at the people she passed as she flew up.

_"You're such a child." _Time scoffed and Karolina chuckled.

"I _am_ only 15." Once she landed at the top, she was surprised to hear voices. They seemed familiar, despite sounding older. She couldn't help but be curious. Did she maybe meet one of these people on her travels?

"I'm such a hopeless idiot. All this time I haven't grown up one bit. Maybe the rain will wash away some of this gloom that's following me… But right now every drop that hits my face is even more depressing." She heard one of the voices say, causing her wrinkle her brow. A younger sounding voice began talking, saying something about how he couldn't feel the rain hitting his face, because he didn't have a body. Karolina froze. _'It can't be…?'_ She wondered, only to have her musings interrupted by another voice. Only it was deeper, angrier, and filled with furious sorrow.

"You, boy, you're the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric, correct?" Her fists clenched. Oh, she knew who these people were. She hadn't expected to bump into them after all these years.

"Brother!" A high pitched voice shouted and she could hear the rustling of clothes. Somewhere a clock chimed, and the alchemist clapped his hands. A large wall formed, blocking a fist crackling with energy. Karolina jumped away from the place she was hiding, her umbrella still tight in her grip.

"What the hell is going on here?!" She heard _Edward_ shout and she watched a muscular man break through the wall. She gaped at the destruction, wondering if she forgave the brothers enough to save them from death.

_"He's stopping at deconstruction…" _Time muttered and she nodded. Tiptoeing closer and she tried to get a better view of the man's face.

"A scar…Is that-?!" She whispered in fright, pausing despite the fact that Scar, _murderer, hater of military alchemists,_ _he's going to kill them, _was trying to kill her childhood friends.

Karolina watched horror-stricken as they jumped off the roof, before landing on a staircase. This guy was strong. Ridiculously strong. If he had the power to kill several military alchemists, she had no doubt in her mind that Scar would be able to overpower both of them.

She watched as Scar stopped them from escaping, and as he smashed his hand on the stairs. Watching the brothers fall down, she tightened her resolve, whipped out her gun and jumped onto the bastard. Gun in one hand, closed umbrella in the other, she was sure she looked ridiculous.

"Run!" She screamed at the two who were staring at her dumbly. She repeatedly used the butt of her gun to bang against the man's head, trying to slow him down. He growled and grabbed her waist, before tossing her down. Opening her umbrella she attempted to get away, but Scar was quicker. He rushed towards her and attempted to swipe at her head. She lifted her gun in response and tried to shoot his hand. It missed.

"Who are you?" Scar shouted, and she gritted her teeth, before trying to aim again. He simply swatted the bullets away, before grabbing her by the neck.

"Young girl, you have strayed from the path of God by attempting to stop me from sending these heathens to God! You shall be-!" He forgot Karolina was still holding a gun. She shot his arm, and jumped off the building ignoring his yells of pain.

As she landed on the ground, she turned her gaze back upwards and swore. Scar had turned his attention back to the brothers, who were currently riding a giant pole made out of rock down a street. She cursed once again, and closed her umbrella. Tapping a circle, it turned back into her staff. Shoving her gun back inside her jacket, she dashed after her childhood friends. She would go to hell before she let them die without her guilt tripping them.

_"Why are you running after them?! Why the hell aren't you running away?!" _Time screamed and she ignored it, and slid into an alley. She skidded to a sudden halt and ducked away, noticing the brothers' predicament. They were trapped.

* * *

"Who are you anyway?! Why are you after us?" Ed shouted. He looked pretty tired and Karolina couldn't help but pity him. Something bad had happened today to him, and now he was being chased by a serial killer.

"As long as there are creators like you in the world, there must also be destroyers." Scar replied. Suddenly Ed and Al launched an attack.

"Gutsy one, aren't you." Scar said and she bit her lip, anxious for their fates. The idiots were going get themselves killed at the rate they were going.

"But, too slow!" And he struck Al with his hand. Half of his armour broke and Karolina clenched her hands, trying to stop the shriek that she wanted to let out. Despite the way they had treated her, she couldn't help but still have a soft spot for Alphonse.

Edward took off his coat, becoming serious. She knew that it was one thing to attack him, but a whole different level to hurt his brother. He then ran up to Scar, weapon at the ready. Karolina couldn't help but think that he might have a chance.

"Brother! Just run away!" Al desperately called, but Ed ignored him. Scar caught him, muttering something about transmutation without circles, before destroying Ed's automail arm. He fell back, the automail parts scattering on the floor. The serial killer slowly walked up to him, again muttering something. Karolina knew she would have to do something. There was no way Edward would be able to survive this without help.

Smacking several transmutation circles on her staff, Karolina leapt out of her hiding space going to stab Scar with the sharp tip of her now transformed umbrella. Ed looked up at her, astonished. Scar slowly got up, looking furious at her interruption.

_"Show me that your training has paid off Karolina. If you die, then you obviously are still weak," _Time growled and a shiver went down her spine. Not at the threat of training, but at Time's tone.

"Why do you keep on getting in the way?!" Scar yelled, charging at Karolina. She jumped up and landed behind him, desperate to not get caught.

"Because you're trying to kill them!" She answered, thrusting her umbrella forward once more. With one quick motion, she slammed the end of her umbrella against Scar's back. He fell forward, coughing, a soft trickle of blood coming out of the wound that she had caused. She spun around and put a foot on his back.

"You wear sunglasses... Are you... one of my own?" The man asked, but she shook my head, confused with his words. One of his-? Oh. She understood. The skin, the hatred for alchemists. It made sense.

"I doubt it." She stepped off and began to walk away. Scar was down for the count. Wiping off the blood, she transmuted her umbrella back into her staff.

"Wait! Who are you?" Ed shouted and she kept walking, not looking at him.

"…You can call me Kai. I will be watching over you for now." She spoke from over her shoulder. And with that, she stabbed her staff into the floor and jumped onto a roof, the rain still pouring down heavily. She watched as the military arrived. Scar got up and a black haired man began talking to him, but Karolina was already walking away.

_"How stupid of you, to still hold affection for the two. You are both after the same goal, do not forget that," _Time muttered, and Karolina gritted her teeth.

"_Even going so far as to give the name you go by now. Do you wish to get caught by them?"_

"Does it really matter if I get caught or not? I know that you want to keep your existence and the immortality a secret, but they're my childhood friends. And as horrible as they were to me, I don't ditch friends." Karolina whispered back, ignoring the pain that the two brothers had caused.

_"__Friends…? When will you learn, you stupid Vessel?"_

* * *

**20.12.15: Rewritten, character perspective changed, massive personality change  
**


	3. Following and Watching

**Chapter 2: Following and Watching**

Karolina stared after the brothers, watching them climb into the train.

_"__Why are you doing this Karolina? I thought you wanted to stay as far away as possible from them?" _Time asked, and she sighed softly.

"I can't help it. We grew up together, and even though we've had a rocky relationship for the past ten years, I can't help but want to… protect them. We grew up like siblings you know?" She explained quietly, trying to not draw any attention to herself. She had covered her hair up already with a black panama hat, making her look even more like a boy much to her chagrin.

_"__I would understand that part if they hadn't abandoned you. However, they did, yet you still care for them? You humans make no sense." _Karolina attempted to ignore the poison laced in Time's words and instead headed to board the train headed to Risembool. She couldn't help but clench her fists at the pain her chest caused from thinking about heading back to the village she grew up in. Longing welled up inside her, before Time smothered it.

_"__No, Karolina. I am already being lenient in allowing you to go anywhere near that place. You will not expose your secrets. Not until I let you." _

"Yes Time. I understand." She climbed aboard and walked through the train's corridors, trying to find the brothers.

"Great, but would you mind telling me what the Major's doing here?" She perked up, hearing Edward's loud voice say, and scuttled up to the booth behind him. A kind, yet oh-so familiar voice answered him:

"For protection! What would happen if Scar came after you again? Or that other weird dude? You're in no shape for a fight now Ed!" Karolina poked her head over the seat and saw Ed clutching his right shoulder, blinking as she caught sight of a ridiculously muscular guy sitting in the same booth as Edward. She supposed that he was the Major.

"The Major's here to help. Just try to grin and bear it!" The kind voice continued. Karolina smiled at the happy and worried undertones. It was just like him to be worried of complete strangers.

"Children can be so stubborn." The Major said and she giggled quietly, her laughter barely above a whisper.

"Hey shut up, I'm no child!" Ed shouted, gaining everyone's attention. He quickly calmed down, and asked:

"Anyway, are you sure Al made it on board?" The Major simply rubbed his chin.

"Yes, of course. I thought he might get lonely without some company." The Major replied, hinting at putting Alphonse with the livestock. Edward yelled at the Major that his brother wasn't a farm animal, when a loud ring echoed through the train, announcing that it was time for the train to leave.

"Oh, it's time!" The voice told Ed and the Major. It continued with:

"Okay, you boys have a safe trip! Stop in and give me a shout the next time you make it to Central!" Karolina peeked over the seats, smiling at the fact that Edward and the Major were saluting. The train began moving, and thus, the long and tedious train ride to Risembool began.

* * *

Karolina shuffled through the extensive notes she had. Her hat long discarded next to her, neatly placed upon her folded trench coat. She was wearing a simple white blouse, one that thankfully showed her smaller figure better. Black pins were threaded into her crimson hair, keeping her bangs from falling into her glass covered eyes. She was glad to discard her sun glasses, they made her eyes hurt when she wasn't in the sun, and wearing normal glasses made her look more feminine.

"I wonder how many times I've written down that the Philosopher's Stone can take on any shape and, or form…?" She whispered lowly to Time, who scoffed.

_ "__Several times, I am sure. What about simple ways to get it? Other than the way that you refuse to do?" _Time asked and she froze.

"Why are you so interested in the Philosopher's Stone anyway?" Attempting to dodge Time's question, she asked one instead. She had wondered repeatedly why Time was making her look up the Stone.

_"__You could probably create a perfect human body with a perfect Philosopher's Stone. I want that. I don't want to be saddled with a pathetic human body, especially since I am sharing it with a human soul," _Time spat out and she flinched at its sharp tones.

"Ah. I suppose that makes sense," she whispered, not wanting to gain the attention of the Major and Ed. Karolina pushed the hurt she felt from Time's words down.

* * *

The sun had already risen and the train had currently stopped at a small town. Karolina woke up from her studying to the sound of the Major shouting:

"Dr. Marcoh! Dr. Marcoh that is you isn't it?! It's me! Alex Louis Armstrong from Central!" Dr. Marcoh? Ah, she supposed they were in the town he worked in. During her travels she had come across a small town doctor who used the Philosopher's Stone to heal others. She had chatted to him about it; however he couldn't give her much information, though he did tell her what the military had used the stone for. It had disgusted her, though Time wasn't impressed. She heard running footsteps and could imagine that Dr. Marcoh had run away.

"Friend of yours?" Ed asked, and then the Major started to explain who Dr. Marcoh was and that he had disappeared after the Ishvalen civil war. She watched Edward get up and run to the door, fully prepared to confront the good doctor. Sighing, she swapped her glasses and pulled on her coat and hat.

"Let's go Major! A guy like this doctor might know some useful things about Bio alchemy!" Ed shouted and Karolina, making a split decision, hastily stood up and followed them. She watched the Major get Alphonse from the livestock wagon, before scuttling after them as they hurried into town. They stopped several times, with the Major asking people if they had seen Dr. Marcoh, holding up an elaborate drawing of him. One man recognized the picture and told them:

"That man looks like Dr. Maroh to me. All of our town's doctors were drafted to help on the battlefields during the civil war. Then Dr. Maroh came here. He's really been a lifesaver."

Another had said that Dr. Marcoh would see any patient and would never give up on anybody. A girl told them that you would see a bright flash of light and then you were cured. She watched, fascinated, as Edward and the Major looked at each other after the girl said that. She followed them to Dr. Marcoh's house, despite having been there before. Once they had reached the house, she ducked underneath the staircase to keep hidden.

"This is it." Edward said when they reached the top of the stairs. Karolina stayed hidden, listening intently.

"Um hello?" Edward called out, before opening the door. She jumped slightly when she heard a short being fired and poked her head out from her hiding place.

"All right, tell me what you two are doing here! Have you come to take me back?!" He shouted, waving his gun around. She was slightly shocked at the desperation in his tone.

"Please, doctor. Calm down!" The Major said, trying to ease the shaking doctor.

"I don't ever want to go back! Anything but that!" Dr. Marcoh pleaded, hands shaking, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Doctor! Calm down, I'm with them," Karolina jumped up the stairs and landed right in front of Dr. Marcoh.

"Remember me? Don't worry, these are my friends," she explained and the doctor lowered his gun.

"Kai?" He asked and she smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?!" Ed yelled and she turned to look at him.

"I was heading the same way?" She said, smiling sheepishly at their raised eyebrows and disbelieving looks.

"So… um, we have a few questions… Would you mind terribly if we came in?" she asked, looking back at Dr. Marcoh. He gave her a quick look, before slowly nodding.

"Thank you," she stepped in, beckoning to the others who followed shortly after. Her brown coat was swishing behind her, when the Major suddenly shouted: "Wait a second! You're the weird guy who was there when the Elrics were attacked!"

"Girl. And yes, I was in the same vicinity at that time. Though I mean no harm," she held up her hands as if to show her peaceful intentions. The Major narrowed his eyes, but said no more on the subject. She sat down on one of the chairs around the table and waited quietly for the rest. When they finally organized themselves and sat down, Karolina had finished rummaging through her bag for her notes on the Philosopher's Stone. The Major and Dr. Marcoh began talking, while Ed and Al listened. She heard the Major ask: "Doctor. What exactly was it that you were ordered to do research on? What thing?" She watched with pity Dr. Marcoh lift his head. He truly had been through some horrors.

"The Philosopher's Stone. The top secret material I took were my research documents. And the stone itself," he answered. Edward and Alphonse gasped, before the older brother shouted:

"You mean you still have it? It's here?!" Dr. Marcoh looked surprised at his sudden outburst, but he simply frowned and dug into his shirt. He then brought out a vial with the familiar red liquid she had only seen once before. She watched in fascination at the red mixture as the doctor poured it out and recalled all of its names.

"This is an incomplete product however. There's no way to know when it will reach its limit and become unusable." He said.

"But it still manages to bypass the laws of equivalent exchange, doesn't it? Unless it's using something else…?" She mumbled quietly to herself, ignoring the doctor's uncomfortable look.

"It's just like the stone that false priest had in Lior. It was incomplete but it still amplified his powers considerably." Ed said, before grinning.

"If imitation Stones this powerful can be produced, who's to say a complete product can't be created!" He slammed his hand onto the table. "Please Dr. Marcoh; I need access to your research material!"

"Major, who exactly is this boy?" Dr. Marcoh questioned and the Major narrowed his eyes once more.

"This boy is a State Alchemist, doctor." He replied.

"What?! But he's only a mere child!" The doctor gasped, before burying his head in his hands. He started muttering about how State Alchemists gave in their certifications after the war, because they didn't want to serve as human weapons anymore. Karolina softened at the guilt and horror in his voice. Edward and Alphonse may have gone through some terrible things, but this man… This man had seen true horrors. He had seen the truth behind the safe façade the military gave off, and had witnessed first-hand the disgusting actions that had happened in Ishval.

"And now, a child…?"

"You think I don't know what I've signed up for?!" Ed shouted his hand where his other arm would have been. She bit her lip at his outburst. No, she didn't think Edward knew exactly what he had signed up for. Did he even know that he would be forced to kill people at some point? With the Fuhrer they had, war would be inevitable.

_"__He is still young and naïve to this world. Perhaps slightly hardened through the death of his mother, and the human transmutation ordeal that he and his brother had to go through, but he is no war veteran. He grew up in the safe confines of Risembool, with his brother and the Rockbells to depend on," _Truth commented, and she nodded slightly, her lips curling into a frown.

"I know what I'm doing, but I don't have any choice. If this is a mistake, then it's a mistake I have to make! There is no other way!" And so Edward launched into an explanation of the Taboo he and his brother had committed.

* * *

"I see. So you committed the Taboo." Dr. Marcoh went up to Al, staring at the broken piece of armour in interest and pity.

"Amazing. The ability to transmute a specific person's soul like this. Maybe one as talented as you would be able to produce a complete Philosopher's Stone. But I can't show you my research." Dr. Marcoh said. Karolina's brows furrowed at that sentence.

"Why not?!" Ed shouted and Dr. Marcoh turned away. Though she was also interested in the reason. Dr. Marcoh had also turned her away from his research the last time she had visited.

"You must not seek after the stone!"

"Not even if it's to get our bodies back?!" Ed questioned and Dr. Marcoh whipped around.

"Did you say… bodies…? Kai, don't you have a friend in a similar situation?" He asked, and this time she was the one lowering her head.

"Yeah. Even if this is the devil's research as you so kindly put it back then, I still have to get a perfect body for it- him. For him," she whispered, trying to cover up her mistake. Edward looked at her in suspicion.

"A perfect body…? Are you going to attempt Human Transmutation?!" He exclaimed and she flinched at his accusation. How dare he?

"Excuse me? I don't think that is any of your business, and besides, I have no-one I love enough to bring back from the dead!" She glared vehemently at Edward, before gathering up her papers.

"I'll meet you at the station." She muttered, before standing up and leaving.

* * *

Karolina walked slowly to the station, her hat shading her covered eyes. Maybe following after them hadn't been such a good idea.

_"__Only just realized that, Vessel of mine? Since when have I given you permission to reveal our plans to them? Complete strangers at that-," _Time began, but she stopped it.

"They're not strangers! I know them! I grew up with them! I-I can trust them! I can!" She yelled out, ignoring the looks she was receiving. She knew she could trust them; she definitely could, couldn't she?

_"…__Look at how pathetic you are. Trying to convince yourself that lies are the truth. Do not forget Karolina, how they abandoned you, how they scorned you! Remember the shunning? The hateful words? You cannot trust anyone! No-one! You can trust only me," _Time whispered coaxingly, and she bowed her head in shame.

"I know. But it hurts…" She whispered. Time scoffed, but didn't cease its attempts at calming me.

_"__Do not forget the pain. It shall make you stronger; _I'll_ make you stronger…"_

"Yes Time. I only have you. Only you…" She mumbled and she could feel Time nodding, pleased with her statement.

_"__Yes, only me. I shall be with you until I receive my body. And even then I shall remain with you, until your human body and soul perish like so many others." _It shouldn't have comforted her. She knew that such a morbid fact shouldn't have made her feel better.

But it did.

* * *

**20.12.15: Rewritten, character perspective changed  
**


	4. Discussions and the Teacher

**Chapter 3: Discussions and the Teacher**

Karolina sat silently on the bench next to Edward and the Major, listening to their conversation.

"Are you sure about this Ed? Even an incomplete Philosopher's Stone could be useful; you could have taken it from the doctor by force." The Major pointed out, but Edward just sighed and looked up.

"Yeah, I wanted it so badly I could almost taste it. But still…" Edward spoke, before Alphonse carried on, by some unspoken cue.

"But still, we don't want it so badly that we'd be willing to deprive this town of its only doctor to get it."

"We gained plenty by finding out that the Philosopher's Stone can be made. Now we'll just have to look for some other way to do it!" Edward smiled, before looking at Karolina. His eyes narrowed and his smile turned into frown.

"Where are you going next?" He asked in suspicion and she smiled tightly.

"I am heading to Risembool. I have an old… friend to visit," she said curtly, causing him to scoff at her.

_"__Karolina. Please tell me you aren't talking about yourself."_

"Ah! We're also visiting a friend! Her name's Winry, have you heard of her?" Alphonse asked in an attempt to lighten the tension. She shook her head, clutching at her fists. So they really didn't care about her. Time's soft whispers of 'I told you so' weren't helping her anger.

"No. I've never heard of her." She said, and looked away. Alphonse, desperate to keep the conversation going, continued to talk: "She's really nice! She made brother's auto-mail, did you know? Anyway, enough about us, what about you? Who are you visiting?" She clenched her teeth, before muttering out:

"A dead friend. She's dead. I'm going to her grave."

_"__For God's sake Karolina."_

That shut him up. Edward glared at her, but said nothing.

"I-I'm sorry, that was-," Alphonse attempted to say, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so rude. Besides, she's been dead a while. I doubt anyone visits her, since she was an orphan though. That and most people didn't really like her," she said without thinking, before promptly shutting up. The brothers looked slightly surprised, but said nothing more on the matter.

"U-Um, so how old are you? You look so young!" Alphonse asked and Karolina relaxed slightly.

"I'm 15 years old," she said, plastering on a fake smile.

"You're joking! You're the same age as I am!" Ed exclaimed and her fake smile widened.

"Ah? Really? What a coincidence!"

"If you're 15, where are your parents?" The Major asked and she raised an eyebrow at the blunt question.

"I was abandoned at the age of three," she said, just as dead-pan, before frowning at their pitying eyes.

Silence reigned again, until Edward broke it, a small smirk on his face. The train carefully pulled into the station.

"Major? How do you feel about not reporting back to Central on Dr. Marcoh's location?" Ed inquired.

"I met a simple small town doctor today. I can't see any real reason to report that." The Major replied, and Karolina chuckled at his answer. Edward simply grinned.

"Wait!" A voice suddenly called, and they all turned to see Dr. Marcoh running up to them. The train slowly came to a halt.

"Dr. Marcoh?" Ed asked. The doctor skidded to a stop and hunched over, trying to catch his breath. He must have run all the way to them.

"This is where my materials are." The doctor held out a piece of folded paper. Ed reached out and grabbed it. She stared shocked at the innocent slip of paper. She had been wondering about the location for years, and he went and handed it to Edward? He did have a certain charisma around him she supposed. But it still stung a little bit that he would rather give the information to someone he had just met, as opposed to someone who would visit him regularly.

"If you're certain you won't regret learning the truth in the end, start looking here. Look closely. Maybe, you'll find the truth hidden within the truth. But, I've said too much already." Dr. Marcoh let go of the paper and turned away, a small smile adorning his wrinkly face, before he left. He waved while he walked away, shouting:

"I hope the day will come when you are able to restore your bodies! And Kai? Come and visit me some time again! I enjoyed our talks!" Karolina beamed as he said that, while the Major saluted and Ed bowed.

* * *

Karolina stared out of the window from the booth she was sitting in. Alphonse had politely asked if she had wanted to join them in their booth, but she had declined. She didn't feel like talking to any one of them, and they made her uncomfortable. Besides, it was bugging her that Edward was continuously glaring at her. She sighed softly, and attempted to fall asleep. Instead, her dreams were plagued with memories of her awakening, as she liked to call it. It was the moment when she woke up properly from having her body crushed to be exact.

* * *

Everything hurt terribly. Her bones ached; she could feel bruises the size of her fists aching and her head felt as though it had been crushed by some-

Ah. She remembered now. She gingerly lifted a hand to the back of her head and flinched when it came back full of blood and grey matter. She gagged and vomited at the sight, tears beginning to sting her eyes. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. She continued to expel her lunch while sobbing violently. She didn't want this. She would rather be dead than have to experience this ever again.

_"__How weak, crying over a little bit of blood. It will heal eventually. You may experience chronic head-aches however for a while. Anyway, you should be thanking me for fixing your bust head back together after I climbed out from the wreckage. If I didn't it would be a lot worse," _Time explained, as Karolina wiped the remaining vomit from the corners of her lips.

"How long has it been?" She rasped out, wincing at the sharp pain in her throat as she spoke.

_"__Four days. Had I not forcibly healed you, it would have been longer."_

"…Forci-forcibly healed?" She asked, grimacing at how weak she sounded.

_"__Think of it like this, when you die, I take over your body until your soul returns. The trauma of dying forcibly ejects your soul into the Void; however you cannot enter the gate like most dead souls do. Instead you are stuck in a kind of limbo, until your soul heals from the trauma of dying. The greater the damage, the longer it takes for you to heal. While this is happening, I have an opportunity to heal you without your soul getting in the way. Thus when your soul returns, you have a (mostly) healed body, or Vessel if you will, to return to._

_"__When you are admitted back into your body, I am pushed out of control as I am not the original soul. This also means that your soul can only take so much time to heal, before your body recognizes that I am not its soul. This would mean, no matter how many times I heal it; your body would deteriorate and begin to rot."_

"That… doesn't sound very pleasant."

_"__I am quite sure it wouldn't be. Pleasurable I mean." _They fell into a silence, before Karolina whispered:

"What now?"

_"…__You get stronger. As I said in the Void, I refuse to have a weak Vessel, at least until I get a body of my own. However to get a body, a _perfect_ body, I would need a real Philosopher's Stone. Which is what you're going to get."_

"…But… Ed and Al-!"

_"__Abandoned you. You have no obligation what-so-ever to them. Besides, what have they ever done for you? Nothing, that's what. Besides, once I get a body, you can always give the stone to them afterwards if you _really_ want to," _Time said. _"But first, you're going to go and find a teacher."_

"But- I-I don't want to fight-," Karolina attempted to say, but shut up when she heard Time growl angrily.

_ "__Vessel, do not test my patience. I have told you before; I will not tolerate a weak body. You will train whether you want to or not. Get moving. And while you are at it, choose a new name. You cannot go by Karolina Paulker in public anymore."_

"But why?! That's my name!" She yelped out, before quieting quickly and hunching over in pain. Time had somehow managed to increase the horrible head-ache she was feeling by two-fold.

_"__You will listen carefully, _Vessel_. You may never return as Karolina. When you were crushed, Karolina Paulker died in the public's eye. They see you as dead. That name is dead in public. You will choose a new name to go by with others," _Time snarled, before letting go of the horrible hold they had over her head.

"H-How about K-Kai? It-It means recovery…" she whispered, desperately trying not to anger Time again. It seemed like a good name, despite sounding male.

_ "__Very well. To the public, you shall be known as Kai, no last name." _

"Okay," she said, before attempting to get up. She winced as pain ran up through her leg and in to her hip, but tried to ignore it. She didn't want Time to get any angrier at her.

"Wh-What should I learn exactly?" She asked quietly, after a while. She had finally gotten up and was currently limping through a field.

_"__Learn proper Alchemy, not that kiddy crap you did with those brothers. That and physical fighting. If your alchemy for some reason won't work, it's always good to be able to rely on hand to hand combat." _Time ordered and Karolina accepted their decision. She had to trust Time. They were all she had after all.

* * *

With Time's help, Karolina quickly found someone willing to teach her alchemy. Unfortunately though, he hadn't been very strong physically. He relied on an object of focus inscribed with alchemic formulas in order to fight or create alchemy, as he said that using chalk took up too much time. He taught her how to make her own object of focus, how to write the formulas and gave her tips on what sort of combinations she could make with them. With that knowledge, she created her umbrella and learned how to make her pillars. She left once she mastered it. She hadn't had a close bond to her teacher. He wanted to take on a student for some reason, and she seemed to be the only one willing to learn.

Years later, she would learn that he attempted human transmutation.

(The rebound killed him.)

* * *

After learning what Time called 'proper alchemy', she set off to hone her physical conditions. Karolina spent a few days with a variety of masters, who taught her a few things, before she left again, uncomfortable with the techniques she showed them. That and it costed a lot to learn there. She had no money whatsoever. She would either steal the supplies she desperately needed, or would hunt and forage in the forest. Time would force her to hunt and kill animals.

_"__It's preparation," _They would say before continuing with their explanation. "_Someday, you may need to kill a human. Killing animals will prepare you for it." _

She hated to think about that, but Time denied letting her forget about the subject. The first time she refused to kill an animal was met with a horrific headache, one that left her screaming and dizzy. She was sure she vomited as well at some point.

Karolina knew what Time was doing was borderline abusive and manipulative, but she also knew she was powerless to stop it. Besides, stopping it would have meant Time leaving her. She didn't want to be discarded again. She didn't want to be alone again. Despite travelling across the entire country, meeting and making faint friends, she still felt bone crushingly lonely. No amount of strange chimera gang members, kind hearted families or overconfident colonels could change that. She wanted her family back, even though they hated her.

It was a few days after her first animal kill, however, that she met Teacher.

* * *

Teacher was a stern old man, though he could still pound her into a ground without a sweat. He took her on for one reason only; he was bored. He had been living in isolation for several years, apparently in his mourning period for his late wife. Karolina found it slightly strange, as his wife died over 15 years ago. She decided not to dwell on it however, as it wasn't hindering her training.

She spent two years with him and those two years were probably the best of her entire life. While Teacher had been a grumpy old geezer, he would still look after her. He would pat her head roughly whenever she learned a new trick. He would give her an acknowledging nod when she managed to finally crush a small boulder. She relished in the attention, no matter how small it was. Someone finally cared for her; someone looked after her without pitying her! Karolina had been so happy.

But good things never last.

Ever.


	5. Guilt

**Chapter 4: Guilt**

When they finally arrived at Risembool, and began walking up to the Rockbell's house, Karolina felt like crying. The path felt so nostalgic. How long had it been since she had returned to her hometown? It had been too long.

And when she saw the house, she couldn't stop the small tear that fell from her eye. She rubbed it away as soon as it came, it wouldn't do for the others to ask why she was crying. And she had a feeling Time wouldn't like it if she answered 'Nostalgia'. The house looked exactly the same since her death. Den was still sitting on the porch waiting for customers, the big wooden sign promoting automail business had only peeled and splintered slightly. Den perked up and began barking at our arrival, when she noticed Granny standing next to Den. Karolina felt her chest tighten and had to forcibly restrain herself from dashing up to Granny and sweeping the tiny woman into a hug. Her eyes burned as she forcibly kept her eyes open, trying to dry up any tears that would dare fall from her eyes.

"Yo Granny!" Edward called.

"We're home!" Alphonse added, as they walked up to the house. Karolina hesitated from approaching. She wasn't sure if she would be able to stop herself from crying. Especially when Granny spoke up. Karolina gave a pained gasp at her words. She sounded exactly the same.

"Oh dear, what have you done now?"

"A lot has happened. Can you fix us up?" Edward asked as they stopped in front of the old woman, who simply raised an eyebrow at his request. The Major put Alphonse down and shook Granny's hand.

"This is Major Alex Louis Armstrong," Edward introduced the Major, while Granny introduced herself.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell. And this is…?" She said, turning to Karolina. She gave a watery smile, and brokenly introduced herself.

"I-I'm Kai. It's nice- It's nice to meet you," she whispered, holding out a hand for Granny to shake. She almost sobbed when Granny took her hand. How long had it been since she held Granny's hand? Karolina released her hand after one or two shakes, not trusting herself to let go.

"Kai followed us all the way from East City. Said she's stopping by to say hello to a dead friend," Edward scowled while she flinched.

Granny took a couple of steps back. Her face seemed blank yet she seemed annoyed at Edward's bluntness.

"I know I haven't seen you for a while Ed, but you've gone and grown smaller." She commented, causing Edward to growl. Karolina let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and smiled softly at the display. She hadn't seen this since she was five.

"Granny, you've got it wrong! You're supposed to say how big you've grown lately Ed!" He said through clenched teeth. He was shaking in heavily restrained anger and Karolina just knew that he would snap soon.

"Why would I say something so clearly untrue?" Granny retorted, and Karolina couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Edward's eye twitched and his restraint broke in two.

"I'm still taller than you, you mini hag!" He screeched, and suddenly a familiar wrench flew down and smacked him on the head. That… was new. Karolina stared in shock at the downed Edward, and shook at the sight of blood welling from the injury.

"Edward, I thought I told you to call first when you're heading back here for matinence!" Winry yelled. Karolina froze. She had completely forgotten about Winry. Even though the girl had acted icy to her during their fight, she still had let her stay with her and Granny. They had grown slightly closer after Edward and Alphonse left, though it was no-where near their old friendship. Karolina doubted though, that they would ever be close friends again.

"Winry! Are you trying to kill me?!" Edward shrieked. Winry just began laughing at that. The loud laughter made Karolina's heart feel as though it were being ripped in two. It had been so long since she had heard that happy and carefree laughter. She wanted to curl up and simply cry. It hurt so much. Why the hell had she thought that this was a good idea?

"Welcome back!" Winry said, still grinning and Edward grumbled slightly. The Major hauled up Alphonse again and they made their way inside. Karolina lagged behind slightly. Was she really ready to go into her old home? To see everything? As she pondered this, Den hobbled up to her, and sniffed her trouser legs. She froze. Of course Den would be able to recognize her. She supposed it was good that dogs couldn't talk. Den stared up at her, and she was surprised to see his tongue hanging out, his tail wagging happily. He licked her hand joyfully and it broke the dam behind her eyes slightly.

"Hey boy," she whispered, as tears ran down her face.

"I'm back."

* * *

After the group, minus Kai, had settled in and explained the situation, Winry immediately set to examine Edwards arm. She shrieked when she saw the damage.

"Yeah, sorry, it's a little smashed up." Edward commented blasé, causing Winry to screech:

"A little smashed up?! A little!? Ed, do you see what you have done to my beautiful creation? I slaved over this!"

"It's basically the same; it's just in smaller pieces!" Edward said, causing Winry to punch him in the jaw.

"Don't tell me, you a little smashed up too Al? What kind of trouble have you two been getting yourselves into?!" She asked, before kicked Alphonse in the face, unhappy with his lack of answer.

"All right, I see. In order to get this information you need you want to get to Central as quickly as possible. Am I right?" Pinako asked, noting the fact that the strange person hadn't followed them in.

"Yeah. This is kinda a rush order," Edward answered. Pinako went over Edward's leg before saying:

"It's not just your arm, your leg needs adjusting too." Winry smirked before leaning over and commenting:

"Guess your growth's not completely stunted after all!"

"Oh shut up!" He shouted, his eye twitching in anger. Pinako explained that it would take a while due to everything that needed adjusting and fixing.

"Is there any way for it to be done in a week?" Edward asked, slightly concerned.

"Give me some credit Ed. Three days." Pinako said, blowing out the smoke on her pipe. She then attached a spare leg to Edward.

"You'll have to make do with this spare for now." She muttered, while Edward stood up before almost tripping.

"Woah!" He tried to steady himself, before stretching. Winry stared at him and Alphonse, and bit her lip. She seemed as though she wanted to ask something. Edward turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow at her sudden silence.

"Huh? What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" Pinako's expression became stony.

"You know Ed… you haven't asked about Karolina yet…" Winry mumbled her voice barely above a breath.

"Eh?" Edward looked at her in confusion. He hadn't heard anything. She clenched her fists, before letting out a soft sigh.

"It's nothing. I… I didn't say anything." And with that she hurried out, leaving Ed with an irritated face.

"She could have just repeated it. Man, why did she get so weird?" Ed asked to no-one in particular while Pinako sighed deeply.

"How about you visit your mother Ed? I'll start to work on your automail." She said and Edward nodded.

"Yeah. I'll see you guys later." He also left, leaving Pinako, Major Armstrong and Alphonse.

"I can't help but be slightly disappointed in you Alphonse. You haven't asked about Lina once. Edward I could understand, but you?" She said, looking out the window instead of at them. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she saw the stranger play with Den. They looked upset.

"I-"

"No. It's fine. I guess it doesn't matter now anyway…" she whispered the last bit, before shaking herself and turning to face the two.

"Major, would you mind bringing Al outside?" She asked. Alphonse looked slightly surprised at the sudden change of mood.

"Wait-Granny- How… How is she?" He asked. He froze when he saw her bitter expression.

"Dead. That's how she is."

"Wha-!"

"She lived with us for a while, did you know? When you guys went to your Teacher and when you went to Central City. Winry was slightly cold towards her. Blamed her like you two blamed her. But after we took her in, she pitied her slightly. Listening to someone cry every night for three months does that to you. They were awkward with one another, and I think they both knew that they would never be as close as they were before. But anyway, I'm getting off track.

"Three months after Ed got his certification, she said that she wanted to go hiking. I was happy that she was finally leaving the house. Did you know she only went out to play with Den? Anyway, I thought that we were finally going to get a happy Karolina back. But instead she was crushed by a boulder while apparently saving a little kid." She gave a humourless chuckle.

"They called it suicide, even though the little kid said that she saved her. But everyone said that she killed herself on purpose. Said that Crazy Karolina went mad because of the voices in her head. Most people said good riddance. The kid she saved eventually believed the others. What he saw was her jumping in the way of a rockslide," Pinako spat out. Alphonse was silent, as was the Major.

"I don't know which version is true, to be honest. I really want to believe that she died saving someone. But on the other hand, she seemed so… depressed. A few days before she died, she was acting strangely. It was as if she knew she was going to die. That's why I don't know what she did. Maybe she did both. Maybe she was gonna kill herself anyway. But as I said before, it doesn't matter now."

The door clicked open, and Kai walked in.

"Sorry I took so-," she stopped when she realized the sombre mood.

"Wh-Why didn't you tell us…?" Alphonse asked. He was shaking. Pinako turned to look at him.

"We tried to call, but you were unreachable. Besides, I thought that you still hated her," she explained quietly. She was slightly surprised to see Kai flinch at her words.

"Tell me, Kai, who is this friend you are visiting?" She asked.

* * *

Karolina froze. Why did she have to walk in now? Why did she have to see all of this happening?

_"__I told you, you should have made a better excuse. So what are you going to say, Vessel of mine? Choose wisely."_

"J-Just someone I-I met on my travels. Shortly. We- um- I- She was nice to me? And- I was sad when I heard she died- s-so I decided to say h-hello and good-goodbye," she stuttered, hating herself for it.

_"__You sound so pitiful. Your lying is atrocious and disgusting. Honestly, I expected better." _Time spat out.

"What was her name?" Granny asked again and Karolina felt herself sweating. Her nerves were getting the better of her.

"…Her-Her name was Karolina," she whispered, and winced when she felt the harsh headache Time gave her and saw the shocked stares of Granny and Alphonse.

"…I see." Granny nodded slightly, and put down her pipe. "I see."

* * *

The moment Alphonse had heard that Karolina was dead, he wanted to cry. But the moment he heard that she might have committed suicide made him go cold. Not physically, but mentally. He felt… like trash. Worse than trash. He felt like the scum of the earth. Was it his and his brother's fault that she died? Was it their fault… that she might have committed suicide? And then Kai had to come, and say that Karolina was the dead friend they were visiting. It practically shattered him. Their friend was dead, and Alphonse and his brother was the cause.

God, he felt so guilty. It was moments like these, where he felt that he didn't deserve his body back. They had pretty much murdered one of their best friends. Or, previous best friend. Granny looked so disappointed. In him. In his brother.

"I-I need to go out. Please." He whispered. The Major nodded his head and picked up his crate. Kai stared at him mournfully.

"I-I'm sorry- !" They apologized quietly. Alphonse looked away. He felt even worse. Why were they apologizing? It was his fault. They hadn't done anything other than be a good friend to Lina.

"Don't. It's-It's not your fault. I-I just need to think," he explained softly. Kai bit their lip, but nodded.

"Okay. Just- Just don't be too hard on yourself, okay? She-she wouldn't have wanted that." He gave a slow nod, barely registering their words. The Major carried him out of the house and placed Alphonse near the chickens.

"Would you like some company?" The Major asked his deep voice thick with emotion. "No. I-I would like to be alone for a while. I-I need to think." Alphonse whispered, and he nodded grievously.

"I understand. But as the young Kai said, it would not be best to dwell on it. Talk to someone once you are ready. It will help," The Major gave him a sad smile, before heading back inside, leaving Alphonse alone with his thoughts.


	6. Revealing and Explanations

**Chapter 5 – Revealing and Explanations**

Major Alex Louise Armstrong stepped back into the house, the haunting discussion he had just listened to still fresh in his mind. Those boys… they were so young and they had to live through so much already. He didn't know much about losing a family member, though he did know what it was like to lose a friend. He especially knew what it was like to lose them to suicide. The Ishvalen war affected many people, though while some had the reward of death, others had to go through the guilt and regret that came afterwards. The year the war ended had the most suicides Amestris had seen in a century. The Military refused to give the officers that killed themselves a proper military burial, as what they had done was dishonourable and made them cowards.

Alex remembered the rage he had felt when he found out that his own friend had chosen the coward's way out. Yet he had also understood. Understood, because he had felt the same after massacring so many innocent people. However, he had had his family to ground him. His friend had not. They had been an orphan, and joined the military as they had nothing to lose. Yet so soon after he had joined, they had sent him to the war. Alex didn't know what horrors he had seen there, as he himself had requested to leave as soon as possible. Yet when the war was done and over, his friend refused to see him, and shot himself in the head three days after he returned.

Alex shook himself from his train of thoughts, and entered the living room. Kai seemed to have disappeared, probably having gone to visit 'Karolina'. Mme Pinako had begun to work on Edward's arm, yet her eyes seemed to wander. She seemed distracted.

"Mme Pinako? Is there anything I could help with?" He asked, and the old woman lifted her head, startled at his sudden entrance.

"Oh my, you startled me. For such a large man, you can be quite silent," she said, before adjusting her glasses.

"My apologies for scaring you. It was not my intention. That being said, could I help with something?"

"Well… I suppose if you're offering…"

* * *

Karolina walked up the old, yet familiar pathway to the cemetery. From what small information she had gleaned from Granny, they had put a small grave in the graveyard and left it there. Apparently there hadn't been anything left but blood and one or two lucky bones that hadn't been crushed completely. Those were the only things they had buried in her grave. What a strange thought that was. _Her grave_. Apparently there was also a small marker where she had been crushed. Nothing fancy, just a warning for rockslides. Though from what she had heard, no-one went there. They hadn't been able to clean up all the blood, which stained the rocks and soil around it the colour of rust. It also smelt quite bad due to the blood heating up in the sun.

_"__This is completely ridiculous. Why are you going to visit your own grave? Are you really that self-centred?" _Time spat out venomously, making Karolina flinch.

"No, I-I just told everyone I was going here, and-and wouldn't it look suspicious if I didn't go…?" She explained, and grimaced as a headache wracked her brain.

_"__You could have simply pretended to go. This is a complete time-waster. While you are sitting here, playing happy family with people that don't know you and if they did know you they would hate you, we are wasting valuable time looking for the Philosopher's Stone. I sometimes wonder if you were dropped on the head as a child. It would explain your stupidness." _Time growled out, and she bit her lip harshly.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to come here again…"

_"__For what? You see what it is doing to you! It would have been better if you never came across those two brothers-!"_

"Don't say that! That's not true! I-!" Karolina clutched her head and cried out as her headache increased.

_"__Did you just interrupt me?"_

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" She whimpered and her chest tightened as she heard Time's disgusted scoff.

_"__I regret choosing you. It would have been better to choose a strong Vessel, rather than your disgusting body."_ She gave a dry sob at their claims, and began to apologize.

_"__Get up; you look even more pathetic than usual. Were you not going to visit your own grave? Now go, I have had enough of you for today. Do not attempt to speak to me."_

Karolina nodded, and hauled herself back up, before hurrying to the cemetery.

* * *

Edward was surprised to see Kai rushing inside the graveyard, barely looking at his surprised gaze.

"Hey! What are you- Oh yeah. Dead friend," he muttered to himself, before jogging after them. He hadn't actually thought there was a dead friend. He had thought it was an excuse to follow them, but apparently he was wrong.

"What the hell was that about?" He asked, and raised an eyebrow at Kai's laboured breathing.

"I… I just wanted to see her." They explained and he nodded. Kai seemed slightly surprised though. It was the longest they had spoken without him throwing a glare at them.

"So where is she? Maybe I know her," he said, and they seemed to hesitate, before shaking their head.

"Maybe, maybe not. We- we were pen pals until she turned eight. Then, she just stopped replying to my letters. I wanted to visit her sooner, because I was worried, but things kept getting in the way and by the time I wanted to go I had heard that there had been rockslide with one casualty. And-and they said that she had been the one who got caught in it. I… I feel kinda glad that she's dead though. She- she was suffering a lot. Mentally I mean." Edward went silent at that, feeling guilt for not believing them sooner. He seemed to think, before clearing his throat.

"Ah…I'm sorry then."

"It's fine. What makes me upset though, are the villagers. They- they told me she committed suicide," Kai said, lowering their gaze and slowing their pace.

"Oh- wow. That's- jeez. My condolences," he stuttered. Now he really felt like an asshole. Not only was her friend dead, but she had apparently killed herself too.

"It's fine. As I said before, at least she isn't suffering. It was just… surprising. Because I never thought that she would kill herself, she didn't seem like the type, you know? But… I sorta understand. She was so miserable here. She didn't have the money or the means to leave, so I guess death seemed like the only solution. She- she had no-one." Edward lowered his gave as well.

"So where is she buried?" He asked, hoping to change the subject slightly.

"Not buried. She has a grave, but there was no body to recover. She turned into pulp after getting crushed. There was only blood and some bone shards apparently." Suddenly, Kai stopped in front of a grave. Edward almost bumped into them, but caught himself in time. They nodded their head at the grave.

"This is it." They muttered, and he looked down at the grave. And promptly froze.

"W-what…?" He croaked out. His throat seemed too tight. He couldn't breathe. His heart was pounding and he felt a pounding headache come on.

"_What…?"_ He asked again, the inscription on the slab of stone burning into his mind. Because there, crudely carved in, was a name and date.

_Karolina Paulker_

_1__st__ December 1899 – 7__th__ October 1911_

* * *

The way back to the Rockbell's house was silent. Edward looked haunted, and a small part of Karolina couldn't help but be satisfied at his disarray and guilt. He deserves it, it would whisper, and she felt inclined to agree. Yet she also felt slightly guilty at causing his devastated expression. When they got back to the house, he wordlessly walked in and opened the door to the kitchen. Granny was in there, standing on a stool and stirring a pot.

"You took a while Ed," she said, and turned her head to look at him. "What took you so-," She paused when she saw his expression. Her face carefully went blank as she put down her stirring spoon.

"I take it Kai took you to her friend's grave?" She inquired and Edward began to shake.

"Why… Why didn't you tell us…?" He asked. Granny sighed. "We tried to reach you at Central Headquarters, but you two weren't there. You never called or sent a letter with your location, so we couldn't notify you. Besides… the last time you three spoke… didn't you wish she were dead?"

Edward didn't reply. His shaking calmed down slightly, before he sat down on one of the chairs and put his head into his hands.

"Does Al know?" He asked, the words coming out muffled.

"He found out shortly after you left. Wanted to know how she was doing," Granny scoffed, and picked up her spoon again. The room was quiet again. Kai silently walked over to a different chair a sat down on it. Edward spoke up again.

"Did… did she really kill herself?" Granny froze. Her grip around the wooden spoon tightened.

"That's the thing Ed. I want to believe it was just an accident. But to be honest…

"I really don't know."


	7. IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

So this isn't an update. Rather, it's a notification for all the readers of Hourglass. I've been rereading this story and I've realised that I have no idea where I'm going with it. I don't like the direction I've gone with Karolina and the plot and the more I think about it, the closer I realize that Karolina is a Mary-Sue. I don't want that for this story. I can't get into the plot and it's just not fun anymore. I'm floundering for ideas and cringing at the terrible jokes and horribly paced story. So I've decided to undergo a rewrite. I'm going to delete this sorry excuse of a story and completely rewrite it. Karolina is going to have a huge backstory and persobality change, and her abilities will be explained a lot clearer. How Time was stuck in her will be discussed and their overall role in the story will probably change. Lina's childhood will be expanded on and her travels will be brought up rather than shoved in a corner. The name of the story will change (I'm thinking of calling it 'Counting Sand Grains') and it will be written a lot better.

Well. That's it from my side. I'm sorry if this has any typos, I'm writing it on my phone in a car. Also, I promise that this story will not be abandoned. I will take a bit longer with updating as I also have to concentrate on my school work, but I really want to try my best. I also want to thank every single one of you. Your support, kind words and constant cheering have really driven me to give you guys a great story. I love writing and I love making people happy with my writing. So thank you! And stay tuned! I will write another note once the first chapter is out.

See you soon!

KitKatmunch


End file.
